Weight Above Which You Wouldn't Go
SuggaD
Posts: 1,369 Member
So when I was overweight, I always had 200 in my mind. That was the number I would never allow myself to get to. What was yours and how did you decide on that number? I'm honestly interested in gaining some understanding as to how people allow their weight to get super out of control.
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I got on the scale at my heaviest at 228. I thought to myself...I just can't get over 230! My father weighs 230 and he is overweight. What do I look like? So, that was the motivation for me. I could see it in others but not myself.0
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Wow...well, as a teenager, it was 110.
At the age of 45, it was 200.
I got above that anyway.
Under it now.
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So when I was overweight, I always had 200 in my mind. That was the number I would never allow myself to get to. What was yours and how did you decide on that number? I'm honestly interested in gaining some understanding as to how people allow their weight to get super out of control.
That's sort of a condescending attitude. I really doubt that super morbidly obese people get on the scale and think to themselves "Ok, at 475 I'm totally fine, but 480 is just something that can NEVER happen." There are lots and lots of reasons that people gain weight, and there's no one mindset that can be attributed to that happening.
I'm curious - what's your definition of "super out of control"?0 -
I was overweight even in high school. I always hoped then that I'd never go over 200. I actually lost quite a lot of weight in my early 20's. Then I met my husband and he likes to cook, and we had four children, and I found myself way over 200. I can honestly say that once I went over it was just like "whatever, I went over, hey it's not SO bad." I did not want to go over 250 though, even when 9 months pregnant, and I'm thankful I didn't. Now I'm hoping to see 199 on the scale before 2016.0
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So when I was overweight, I always had 200 in my mind. That was the number I would never allow myself to get to. What was yours and how did you decide on that number? I'm honestly interested in gaining some understanding as to how people allow their weight to get super out of control.
That's sort of a condescending attitude. I really doubt that super morbidly obese people get on the scale and think to themselves "Ok, at 475 I'm totally fine, but 480 is just something that can NEVER happen." There are lots and lots of reasons that people gain weight, and there's no one mindset that can be attributed to that happening.
I'm curious - what's your definition of "super out of control"?
I'm not trying to be condescending. I asked a question that I am honestly interested in hearing answers to. Why people allow themselves to get to 475 is exactly what I'm getting at. What are the reasons? Just trying to understand. Is that wrong?0 -
I got on the scale at my heaviest at 228. I thought to myself...I just can't get over 230! My father weighs 230 and he is overweight. What do I look like? So, that was the motivation for me. I could see it in others but not myself.
This is so true. Knowing I weigh more than my dad is really embarrassing and makes me re-evaluate how comfortable I thought I was being big.0 -
I was overweight even in high school. I always hoped then that I'd never go over 200. I actually lost quite a lot of weight in my early 20's. Then I met my husband and he likes to cook, and we had four children, and I found myself way over 200. I can honestly say that once I went over it was just like "whatever, I went over, hey it's not SO bad." I did not want to go over 250 though, even when 9 months pregnant, and I'm thankful I didn't. Now I'm hoping to see 199 on the scale before 2016.
Thanks for the honest answer. This is exactly the type of answers I'm looking for. Congrats on the loss! Keep it up! :-)0 -
So when I was overweight, I always had 200 in my mind. That was the number I would never allow myself to get to. What was yours and how did you decide on that number? I'm honestly interested in gaining some understanding as to how people allow their weight to get super out of control.
That's sort of a condescending attitude. I really doubt that super morbidly obese people get on the scale and think to themselves "Ok, at 475 I'm totally fine, but 480 is just something that can NEVER happen." There are lots and lots of reasons that people gain weight, and there's no one mindset that can be attributed to that happening.
I'm curious - what's your definition of "super out of control"?
I'm not trying to be condescending. I asked a question that I am honestly interested in hearing answers to. Why people allow themselves to get to 475 is exactly what I'm getting at. What are the reasons? Just trying to understand. Is that wrong?
I don't think the reasons for people "letting" themselves get to 475 are much different from the reasons for people "letting" themselves getting above 200...or 180...or whatever their initial "ceiling" was.
Because the fact is, if it actually were easy to just suddenly cap things and stop gaining, we probably wouldn't have gained in the first place.
JMO.
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I got on the scale at my heaviest at 228. I thought to myself...I just can't get over 230! My father weighs 230 and he is overweight. What do I look like? So, that was the motivation for me. I could see it in others but not myself.
This is so true. Knowing I weigh more than my dad is really embarrassing and makes me re-evaluate how comfortable I thought I was being big.
My "true shock" moment was when I realized I was heavier than I was the day before I gave birth.
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The biggest number I've seen is 270. I may have been heavier than that at one point, but I never stepped on the scales when I was.0
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So when I was overweight, I always had 200 in my mind. That was the number I would never allow myself to get to. What was yours and how did you decide on that number? I'm honestly interested in gaining some understanding as to how people allow their weight to get super out of control.
That's sort of a condescending attitude. I really doubt that super morbidly obese people get on the scale and think to themselves "Ok, at 475 I'm totally fine, but 480 is just something that can NEVER happen." There are lots and lots of reasons that people gain weight, and there's no one mindset that can be attributed to that happening.
I'm curious - what's your definition of "super out of control"?
I'm not trying to be condescending. I asked a question that I am honestly interested in hearing answers to. Why people allow themselves to get to 475 is exactly what I'm getting at. What are the reasons? Just trying to understand. Is that wrong?
Why do you think that people who are super morbidly obese have a weight in mind which they have deemed "too high"?
Also, you didn't answer my question about what you consider "super out of control." You identified 200 as a weight that you personally would not accept. Does that mean that you believe someone who reached a weight of 225 or 250 was "super out of control" with regard to their weight?
Just trying to understand.
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Apparently around 190-200lbs for me. But it's more about how I look physically than about the weight itself. Once I get to that range I just hate how I look. I can understand why people would allow themselves to get really heavy, it takes a lot of dedication and the right frame of mind to lose weight. Especially to want to meet specific body composition goals.0
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Why people allow themselves to get to 475 is exactly what I'm getting at. What are the reasons? Just trying to understand. Is that wrong?
They probably feel out of control. But also when it's happening another 5 lbs is never that big a change and you usually continue to feel about the same as last month or the month before until you realize you are uncomfortable or hate how you look or having worse physical symptoms, perhaps. But all that makes it harder to stop.
I got to 220 or so as my highest, but refused to weigh myself basically after I knew I was over 150 (which had been my number at one point).
I gained a bunch of weight twice in my life. The first time I felt like I didn't understand why or how to stop it (yes, this seems crazy now), and actually getting the number (I was terrified it would be 200, but the worst then was about 190) was part of taking control. The second time I knew how to stop it, but I just didn't care enough for various reasons. I was overwhelmed with other stuff in my life and just always thought I'd deal with it tomorrow. I was a little in denial, so rather shocked that I was so much heavier than my prior heaviest.
Why I snapped back into caring enough when I did, I dunno. Wish I understood that part better.0 -
It was 220 back in college. Then 170 last year - when I hit that weight I went back to tracking after years of maintaining 160ish without tracking. So, currently, 170 is my "nope" weight.0
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I remember it was 4th of July last year and the denim shorts I wanted to wear wouldn't button. I stepped on the scale and was 244.8. In my mind 250 was it. That's the day I joined MFP too! 0
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In high school, it was 115-120 (depending on whether it was wrestling season or not), it was 150 after my first year of university, and now it's 128 (transition to an overweight BMI, 5'0).
I've been maintaining 123-127 lately and it's been okay. Even though the difference between 127 and 128 is very little, the labels associated with BMI are motivating.0 -
I got on the scale at my heaviest at 228. I thought to myself...I just can't get over 230! My father weighs 230 and he is overweight. What do I look like? So, that was the motivation for me. I could see it in others but not myself.
This is so true. Knowing I weigh more than my dad is really embarrassing and makes me re-evaluate how comfortable I thought I was being big.
My "true shock" moment was when I realized I was heavier than I was the day before I gave birth.
That too!! When I started MFP I was just 5 lbs under my 40 week weight with my fourth. She weighed 7 lbs. So at 11 months post-partum how could I possibly weigh only 5 lbs less than when I was pregnant? Oh right, because I over-ate all day long.
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400 was my number. Why so large? I was an obese teenager who just became an obese adult and didn't think much of it. Everybody in my family was (and is) obese and while I realized it wasn't normal, I didn't want to be fit so much that I was willing to give up the things that I ate, and as somebody who didn't like exercise I also didn't want the frustration and pain of working out, of being out of breath and sweaty and still not losing weight because I didn't yet understand that fitness and losing weight are related, but not the same thing and that I couldn't outrun my fork.
I had a scale that could read up to 400 and periodically I'd weigh myself on it, cognizant of my number but not doing anything about it. One day it read 391.0 and, for whatever reason, that haunted me for the rest of that day. I was in the 390s, and edging close to 400! Starting my weight with a 4 would have been, to me, the sign that I had truly given up on ever controlling myself. The realization hit me that if I didn't turn it around I was going to die much earlier than I'd like. That day, I resolved that I'd make it happen. 30 pounds lost later I found MFP, and almost another 100 after that this site is still helping me every day.0 -
My highest ever was 230. At that point, I started working on getting back down. I was at 225-215 for a while, and now I'm at 200. My goal is to NEVER be above 200 lbs again.0
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200. I got to 193 and said "Woooooo, this has to stop".0
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I thought it was 160, but apparently its 180. And work-related stress eating is the main culprit. Once I stopped caring what management thought, I've been able to relax, make myself healthy meals and am mostly not too tired to get a few workouts in, in a week.0
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I got on the scale at my heaviest at 228. I thought to myself...I just can't get over 230! My father weighs 230 and he is overweight. What do I look like? So, that was the motivation for me. I could see it in others but not myself.
This is so true. Knowing I weigh more than my dad is really embarrassing and makes me re-evaluate how comfortable I thought I was being big.
My "true shock" moment was when I realized I was heavier than I was the day before I gave birth.
That too!! When I started MFP I was just 5 lbs under my 40 week weight with my fourth. She weighed 7 lbs. So at 11 months post-partum how could I possibly weigh only 5 lbs less than when I was pregnant? Oh right, because I over-ate all day long.
Funny! Thinking back at it now...how did I get so heavy? Oh yeah, eating about five pounds of cheese a week will do that to you. Also, weighing more than my husband who is 8 inches taller than me! Ugh!0 -
155 lbs was the breaking point for me. I was probably even heavier as a teen but I didn't weigh myself back then. But having been at around 125 lbs for years and then suddenly seeing 154 was a bit of a shock. I knew I had been gaining, the clothes were getting tighter and I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable, but as I hadn't had to change my wardrobe entirely I figured I was still fine. But when I saw the actual numbers I decided it was time to do something, because otherwise in another year and a half I might be looking at 200 pounds and it would be much more difficult to come down from that.0
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I think a big point has been missed here in that the actual number is only relevant to the size and sex of the person. 200lb might be a massive problem for a 4'11 female by giving them a BMI of over 40, but for a 6'6 male it puts them bang slap in the middle of the normal range.
So the answer to the "super out of control" question is going to vary massively according to the individual in question. And that's just on a height/sex ratio without even considering muscle mass or frame size.
It's SUCH an individual number that sharing mine is pretty pointless as it won't be relevant to anyone else. I have a 'happy weight' window which is 4lb wide, if I go 5lb OVER the top edge of my happy weight then I do something about it before it increases.0 -
I was convinced I was 200 lbs when I was in high school... But I never weighed myself because I was just so afraid of facing that number and knowing I would have to start to get my weight under control after I did. The highest recorded weight, for me, was 178 lbs (about a year after graduating high school), which was a relief but also a kick in the *kitten* to get started losing weight because I had been out of control for so long. I think if I ever got to 180 that would be the weight where I would tell myself I needed to get back on track, but you can only control so much.0
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rawstrongchick wrote: »I think a big point has been missed here in that the actual number is only relevant to the size and sex of the person. 200lb might be a massive problem for a 4'11 female by giving them a BMI of over 40, but for a 6'6 male it puts them bang slap in the middle of the normal range.
So the answer to the "super out of control" question is going to vary massively according to the individual in question. And that's just on a height/sex ratio without even considering muscle mass or frame size.
It's SUCH an individual number that sharing mine is pretty pointless as it won't be relevant to anyone else. I have a 'happy weight' window which is 4lb wide, if I go 5lb OVER the top edge of my happy weight then I do something about it before it increases.
Good point.0 -
I never really had a "I can't go over X number" mentality, but seeing a weight that was over 200lbs did shock me out of apathy. My highest weight was 213. I knew something had to change at that point.0
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When I was bigger, the only time I weighed myself was at yearly doctor appointments. At home, I didn't weigh myself, so I had no idea that I was really gaining weight or how much I weighed. It's a lot easier to gain weight when you're not seeing it on the scale, but I had also always been overweight since the age of 9, so I guess I assumed I always would be and didn't give it much thought.
When I finally did step on the scale at home, I saw 234.6 pounds, and that number was already higher than I ever wanted or expected it to be, and that's when I decided to do something about it.
Now that I've dropped the weight and know what my body looks and feels like at each "weight decade", I do have a mental limit, and it's probably around 175 pounds (I'm 5'6"). My current weight is about 150 pounds, and I'm very comfortable here. For me, it's about being able to buy clothes with relative ease and do any physical/fitness activity without too much trouble or discomfort.
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I've never had a ceiling. When I was younger, I'd panic a lot over numbers. I'd look at the scale and think, "I can't weigh more than this." But there was never an idea that I was ok as long as I was under a certain number. Each time it went up, I'd just readjust and promise that that would be my heaviest. The highest I was about 205. Now that I'm older and (I'd like to think) wiser and more mature, I've become a bit of a body acceptance crusader. To me, that also means giving up the idea of one little number ruling my life and deciding if I'm healthy or not. I'm happy with the way I look and feel and I try to eat well and be active, but the number doesn't matter. I'm about 185 and focusing on getting rid of a little bit I gained when i had some depression issues, but that's not because of the number, that's because I'm trying to right a wrong that i did to myself. Charts will tell you I'm overweight, but my BP and cholesterol are great and I can walk for miles without problem. My point of saying this is to point out that some people aren't thinking about the number at all, for good or bad.0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Why people allow themselves to get to 475 is exactly what I'm getting at. What are the reasons? Just trying to understand. Is that wrong?
They probably feel out of control. But also when it's happening another 5 lbs is never that big a change and you usually continue to feel about the same as last month or the month before until you realize you are uncomfortable or hate how you look or having worse physical symptoms, perhaps. But all that makes it harder to stop.
I got to 220 or so as my highest, but refused to weigh myself basically after I knew I was over 150 (which had been my number at one point).
I gained a bunch of weight twice in my life. The first time I felt like I didn't understand why or how to stop it (yes, this seems crazy now), and actually getting the number (I was terrified it would be 200, but the worst then was about 190) was part of taking control. The second time I knew how to stop it, but I just didn't care enough for various reasons. I was overwhelmed with other stuff in my life and just always thought I'd deal with it tomorrow. I was a little in denial, so rather shocked that I was so much heavier than my prior heaviest.
Why I snapped back into caring enough when I did, I dunno. Wish I understood that part better.
I agree with needing to be aware of the number before you can take some steps. Every time I've gained I only started actively working on losing once I weighed myself. So if someone weighs 400+lbs maybe they just don't have the specific motivation needed to start losing weight. For me I just stayed in denial about how much I weighed, sinc EI'd always lie about my weight to myself so I was like... "oh I don't need to weigh myself, blah blah blah avoiiid"0
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